Week 8 – Rams @ Lions Matchup

Well today is the day we have been forced to wait for. Are the St. Louis Rams really worse than the Detroit Lions? The Rams have lost 17 straight games, but are still not quite the laughing stock of the league thanks to the Lions going 0-16 in 2008. Prior to the Lions greatness in 2008 it seemed impossible for a non-expansion team, during the salary cap era to lose every game. The Lions losers of 22 of their last 23 games will want this one bad. A Lions win over the Rams on Sunday would give them two victories on the year and put the Rams at 0-8 heading into the bye week. A loss to the Lions would make the Rams the current laughing stock of the league for sure. Nobody takes the Oakland Raiders seriously and they actually already have a win on the season. The Tennessee Titans won 13 games last year, and the Cleveland Browns even have a victory this year. Hands down the Rams are going to be in mocking territory if they can not manage a win today at Ford Field against the Lions.

Don't expect much in the way of great football today, these teams are just looking for a victory. The Rams are coming off of a 42-6 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts and the Detroit Lions lost 26-0 to the Green Bay Packers prior to their bye week. These teams have been awful on offense. The Rams have a league low 60 points scored and have yet to score a rushing touchdown. The Lions are not much better as they are 23rd in points scored, and 25th in total yards. Whoever makes less mistakes should be the winner in this one.

Injuries could be the story of the day. The Rams will be without Richie Incognito, which will force Adam Goldberg to play inside at tackle with Jason Smith coming off injuries playing right tackle. If Donnie Avery is healthy enough to play a whole game he should be able to put a ton of pressure on a very suspect Lions secondary. The Lions desperately need Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson on the field on Sunday. Both are listed as questionable and without them the Lions offense is awful.

Intangibles - Scott Linehan loser of 17 of his last 20 as Rams head coach is now the offensive coordinator of the Lions. If he is ever going to have a good game plan going into a game it will probably be today against the Rams. You know Linehan wants this one bad. Likewise the Rams should really want to take it out on Linehan and the Lions today. This is a game Steven Jackson should be able to dominate. If the Rams are 53 playing as one they should win today, but can we believe in them?

I hope Marc Bulger read the quote from Derek Anderson this week when talking about his stats "Honestly, they are garbage," he said Wednesday. "I haven't looked at them since I started playing." Marc needs to take responsibility for his poor play and the Rams continual losing and lack of offense. Bulger should play better than Stafford, and Steven Jackson should play better than Kevin Smith. This is a game the Rams should win. I am going to stick by my word and pick Detroit today based on the fact I believe they will want it more and make the plays to win it. The Rams still do not seem to know how to win. Until they can turn their culture around I am going to pick their opponent.

Prediction Lions over Rams 20-16

Week 7 – Indianapolis @ Rams Matchup

Sunday Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts should be in for an early Thanksgiving against the St. Louis Rams. This could be one of the biggest mis-matches in NFL history. The Indianapolis Colts have won 14 straight games, while the St. Louis Rams have lost 16 straight games. The Colts are a 14.5 point favorite as the road team. If your a Rams fan every stat is a nightmare to scary to even look at. On paper the Rams should never be in this one on Sunday.

The Rams have allowed opponents to complete 67% of their passes and on Sunday they will face Peyton Manning one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Manning has been on fire early in the 2009 NFL season with a 73.5 completion percentage and a QB rating of 114.1! Manning has started the season with five consecutive 300-yard passing games. With Ron Bartell coming back from a concussion and Justin King possibly out with a groin injury it will be like shooting fish in a barrel for Manning.

Dallas Clark who leads the Colts in receptions with 35, and already has 441 yards in only 5 games will be licking his chops coming into this one. The Rams who traded Will Witherspoon earlier in the week to the Philadelphia Eagles will be starting journeyman Paris Lenon, rookie James Laurinaitis and second year man Larry Grant as their starting linebackers. Look for Clark to have a huge game, the Rams will have no answer for the Manning to Clark duo.

Are the Rams already afraid of the Colts? The Rams are leaning toward starting Adam Goldberg at right tackle even though rookie first-round choice Jason Smith is healthy enough to play. The Rams are worried about Robert Mathis handing it to Smith. Either way we are looking at Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney against Alex Barron and Adam Goldberg, yikes. The two have combined for 10.5 sacks already. With Marc Bulger holding the ball too long and probably playing from behind look for the Colts to just tee off.

The Colts are 5th in scoring offense while the Rams are 30th in points allowed. The Colts are 1st in passing offense while the Rams are 27th against the pass. The Rams are dead last in points scored while the Colts average 27+ points per game.

The Rams who have ZERO rushing touchdowns will have to beat the Colts through the air and that means Marc Bulger will need to out dual Peyton Manning. Sorry I just started laughing a little. With the Rams defense allowing opponents to keep the ball with a 50% 3rd down conversion rate look for Manning to move the Rams around like chess pieces and put on a clinic in this one.

Prediction Colts over the Rams 35-10

Jim Thomas Talks About The Rams on ESPN 101

Jim Thomas was on ESPN 101 this afternoon talking to Bernie Miklasz about the St. Louis Rams. I will give you a brief overview of what Thomas had to say. The Rams went to Lambert airport a little after noon to take their charter flight to New York. Jim said Steve Spagnuolo is organized, has a presence about him and exudes confidence. Spagnuolo can play a big room better than Scott Linehan. This means when he walks in the room he is respected and the players are playing attention. Jim alluded to the fact the Rams never seemed to really do that for Linehan. The Rams starters should play one quarter give or take a couple plays depending on how long teams keep the ball. Adam Goldberg will start the game as the starting right tackle. Jason Smith will then come in with the second team Mark Setterstrom, Roy Schuening, John Greco, and Phil Trautwein. Thomas says that Jason Smith is not ready to start an NFL game yet. Thomas and Miklasz believe the Rams should play Jason Smith as much as possible during the preseason to get as much work in as possible. We look forward to watching the Rams tomorrow night on Fox 2.